Marion's Fidelity Bank Arena has become quite the home-court advantage since the Patriots won the 2019 Class 5A boys basketball state title. That has held especially true so far in 2024. Marion's won its 11th consecutive conference home game (dating to 2022) on Tuesday night by scoring the game's first 12 points, forcing 27 turnovers, and outrebounding Paragould 33-21 on its way to a 73-30 victory. "We played some pretty good defense," said first-year Marion coach Emmanuel Wade, who played college basketball at Ole Miss and coached Marianna to the 2021 state title. "I thought we were very active on defense, and tonight we made a bunch of shots early on, and that definitely helped us get out in front." Nine Patriots (11-2 overall, 4-0 5A East) scored against the Rams (8-11, 1-3), including a game-high 15 points apiece from Lyndell Buckingham and LaDaryl Robinson, while Daryan Selvy, Jr. hit for 11 points. Marion senior forward Kayden Nesbitt, Robinson, and Jalen White stacked eight rebounds apiece, while White blocked four shots. Paragould got eight points from Jessie Beliew, six from Kaden Calhoun, and five from Reese Randleman. Robinson got Marion's evening off to a roaring start when he turned his first offensive rebound of the night into a layup before he made a three-pointer on Marion's following possession for a 5-0 lead with 5:59 left in the first. Buckingham and Nesbitt scored in the paint to extend the run, and Buckingham fed Robinson for a layup for an 11-0 lead. A Nesbitt free throw pushed the Pats' lead to 12-0, and Marion led 21-9 after the initial eight-minute period. The Marion run extended into the second stanza when White hit a layup, Robinson threw down a dunk, and Buckingham and Nesbitt each hit jumpers for a 29-12 lead. Buckingham scored on back-to-back possessions late in the second quarter, which set up a Selvy three-pointer, and when David Brewer rattled home a jumper to beat the second-period buzzer, Marion led 39-19. "We came out tonight with a great mentality," said Wade. "We bought in on defense, we moved the ball on offense, and we attacked the glass for rebounds." Brewer scored the first five points of the second half, making a layup before swishing a three-pointer for a 44-19 bulge, and the Marion lead reached 48-19 following a Buckingham layup and a pair of Robinson free throws. But Paragould strung together six points in a row from there when Calhoun hit a pair of shots and Zach Fields hit a runner to get the Rams within 48-25 midway through the third. From there, Marion closed out the frame by scoring the quarter's last 12 points to trigger the sportsmanship rule. The finishing Patriot run started when Nesbitt split a pair of free throws, Dexter Higgins scored on a layup and split a pair of his own charities, Robinson made two freebies, Higgins canned a triple, and capped the run off by assisting on a Buckingham layup for a 59-25 Marion lead after three quarter. Marion's lead plateaued at 43 points when Selvy hit a layup with less than a minute left in regulation. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion travels tonight to play Greene County Tech in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday, January 19. The junior varsity boys and girls game will tip at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls around 6 p.m. The varsity boys game will tip around 7:30, and the varsity girls and boys games will be broadcast live MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube Channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 1/23 Marion 73, Paragould 30 Nettleton 53, Valley View 44 Batesville 49, Searcy 46 W. Memphis 56, Greene Co. Tech 53 5A EAST STANDINGS ON BEFORE 1/24 GAMES SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 4-0 Nettleton 4-1 Valley View 3-2 W. Memphis 2-2 Searcy 2-3 Greene Co. Tech 1-3 Paragould 1-3 Batesville 1-4